Some travel is 'off the charts' expensive, experts say. Here are 3 ways to cut some costs

cnbc.com:

Some aspects of travel are pricier than ever amid pent-up demand.

«The big cities and the popular [international] destinations — Paris, Rome, Madrid, Lisbon, Milan — those are off the charts,» Sofia Markovich, a travel advisor and founder of Sofia's Travel, said of trip cost. «I look at this every day and I'm just shaking my head, like wow.»

But fear not: There are ways for price-conscious travelers to satiate their wanderlust without breaking the bank.

«People should be prepared not just for a busy travel season, but an expensive travel season,» said Sally French, a travel expert at NerdWallet. «The good news is: There's hope.»

Often, scoring the best deal may mean staying flexible and planning well ahead of time, experts said. Here's what you need to know about the current market, and how to save.

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Consumers are traveling again after a few years of shelving plans during the pandemic. That pent-up demand has been reinforced by an easing of pandemic-era travel restrictions around the world.

The typical American traveler expects to take 3.5 leisure trips in the next 12 months, up from 2.9 a year ago, according to a recent poll by Destination Analysts, a tourism market research firm.

The so-called "revenge travel" dynamic has helped to push up prices, perhaps most acutely for travel abroad.

For example, a round-trip airline ticket to Europe is now about $1,000 — 20% more expensive relative to this time in 2019 and 32% more costly than last year, said Hayley Berg, lead economist at Hopper, a travel app. A